The Forgotten Garden

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

Nell Andrews was found on a pier in Maryborough, Australia in 1913 when she was only four years old. The year she turned seventeen, Nell finally found out the truth about her past, finally revealing that her parents weren't, infact, her birth parents. Fast forward to 1975 and as an older woman now, Nell is determined to discover the truth behind her mysterious appearance as a four-year old girl on the docks of Maryborough. Surely she must have had family that were looking for her. Who were her birth parents and why did they allow her to be sent on a boat all alone at such a young age?  Bouncing ahead to 2005, Nell's granddaughter, Cassandra has unearthed the unfinished digging that Nell had been doing about her history. With Nell now dead, Cassandra feels that she owes it to her grandmother to finish the tale and discover where she came from and why. Backtrack to 1900 and it is also the story of Eliza Makepeace, a young girl brought to live with her high society aunt and uncle following the death of her mother and twin brother. When Cassandra discovers that Nell's story begins to entertwine with the story of Eliza, things begin to take shape and readers are in for a treat!

What an amazing novel! I was intrigued right from the start and as the story continued I was constantly trying to stay ahead of the mystery, piecing together the stories being told by each of the characters. Having now finished this novel, I am sad that it's done. This is the type of novel that you hesitate to finish because you don't want it to end. There were so many twists throughout the novel that the reader is constantly kept at bay from learning the whole story until the very end. Once the novel is finished, the whole story falls into place and is amazing to think of as a whole. I absolutely recommend this novel to everyone! This is definitely a novel that you don't want to pass up reading and I cannot wait to re-read this one already. Yet another must, must read!